Simon
The YouTube video is short, only a few minutes of scrappy security footage that cuts in and out. I squint and see a girl with tan skin and braided black hair standing in the middle of a semi circle in what looks like a town straight out of a western movie. I can almost taste the dust and feel the blazing sun against my skin. She closes her eyes as if in thought and then open them. The dust and sand beneath her begins to move, slowly at first and then all at once. Her hair sweeps out of the braid as a massive wind blows the old west town. She can control the wind, we need her. The video cuts out as the first Inimicus runs at her with a strange spear, she keeps a steady stream of air circling around her and blows the attacker back into a signpost that impales him through the chest. The footage stops.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxmYqRnTmX
I cross my arms and remember her face, I never forget a face. The video never showed if she lived or died but I would've felt it if she died. So she's alive. If I know where a Socius is and if I know they're alive, I'm going to find them and bring them to the team. That's why I'm in Albuquerque today and rolling around in an old Honda. I'm going hunting for a Socius to save and maybe if I'm lucky enough her partner will be with her.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlG7ynnaFP7
I stop at an old Exxon and fill up my tank as I scan the empty lot. It's suspicious when it's this empty. I wipe sweat away from my forehead and take off my sweatshirt. It's dangerous to show my marks here, I'm a sitting duck; but it's too hot.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwFaHD4tqJ
I stop pumping gas and grab a stack of money from my wallet. My inheritance left me dripping with dough but I have never really spent my money on anything stupid. I know better than that. I know that this money isn't mine, it's ours. This is the twelve's money and one day we'll need it. But now I need it to pay for gas so I can get the other Socius. I also need to get away from headquarters to post another blog safely. 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4H6alYtlS
It still aggravates me that this BlueAnonymous12 guy told me to shut it down. No way, this is what I do. This is how I connect with the others. If this Socius tells me to shut this operation down one more time…. I need to find them. Whoever they are. 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgXdo58lyv
I walk right up to the counter and lay my money against its cracked white surface. A broken cash register, some lottery tickets, and a banner that says "Feliz Navidad!" litter the counter. The overweight Mexican guy sitting on the counter blows a ring of cigarette smoke at me and sighs. He's reading a magazine and eating what looks like mangoes dipped in chili powder. "¿Qué deseas pálido?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztSgxBMum8
I cross my arms, I guess he doesn't think I'm fluent in Spanish but he's wrong. I happen to have a very wide vocabulary of Spanish curses and Spanish slang. I decide to be polite today though, even if he did call me pasty, however true it is. "Cuarenta, por favor. Hablo español."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UZZfpUDw0
He glares at me and takes my money, blowing smoke rings at me in anger. "Ahí tienes, ahora sal de aquí. ¿Comprendes?" I nod. He hands me a crummy receipt and goes back to eating his mangoes and looking at his Spanish magazine.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBlj9zGQkN
A quiet voice beckons me. "Americano, come." I look to where a Mexican girl in dirty rags stares at me. I point to myself and she nods. "Come, hurry!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJU6Uz65Ti6
"Can I help you?" I drop my Spanish and cross my arms.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzrt0XlykE
Her words are barely recognizable as a blend of Spanish and English. "Esperanza you are looking for, sí? The girl, la chica from the video online?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMox7jT1FC0
"How do you know about that? And where is she?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡactYgYundi
"I see you on television, they say you murder family. Come, come. I will show you her." She grabs my arm and I realize that she is a good two feet shorter than me. "Hurry. Rapido, rapido."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnkmOiJvzh
I move suspiciously alongside her and she takes me out back. I scan my surroundings and find too many hiding spots to be comfortable around. There is a chain link fence overlooking a drought worn field, a few rusty green dumpsters, and a little shed that contains something gas related. The girl knocks against a dumpster three times and grabs my arm tight. I know then that it's a trap.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacIfWhNtUf
I throw her away as the first group of Inimicus appear from inside of the dumpster. They wield guns and wear thick Kevlar from head to toe, their gun barrels train on me. Adrenaline flows through my veins and fills me with energy. I can't help but become sarcastic, sarcasm is y first line of defense and probably my last.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmhkFNH4JO
"Good to see some old pals again, How are you liking New Mexico? It' s wee bit hot for my tastes. Besides, I sunburn easily." They press forward, snapping back something in their native tongue.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRp9yv8Md3
I hold up my hands and slowly bend the barrels of their riffles down so that they're useless. "It's a fair fight now, no weapons vs. no weapons."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC3a4XFand
Another group pops out from around the corner and then another from the shed. There are quite a few aliens here. Can I take them all? I pull out a small bottle opener keychain from my pocket and brandish it as a real weapon. The confused Inimicus laugh at me in unison.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnAS7dnhC4
"Surrender Simon Valere! Surrender or die!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemc0M5RY58
"How about neither! You want me? Come and get me." I flash into the first group, the metal bending to my will and becoming a keychain dagger. I manage to take out three of them before on of them kicks me in the ribs with steel toed boots. It takes everything I have in me to not puke. I kill him with the keychain and let the black sludge consume my keychain.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJO80awPmS0
I disappear into thin air as the Inimicus whose guns weren't destroyed begin to pepper the area I was last in with a barrage of bullets. I quietly climb onto the dumpster and casually have a seat. I crack my knuckles and shift positions because the metal is hot against my butt. I start picking them off one by one. I lift one up into the air and slam him down against the ground. A different one suffocates and another one is crushed in my grasp. This is boring, I am really surprised that they aren't trying a different tactic.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsO9xkkDwdE
As soon as I think it, a cold gun barrel presses against my back. "Simon Valere, prepare to die. You thought we couldn't kind you SV? You thought wrong." They all pick up on the cue and circle me. If they were smart they would've shot me on the spot, but I've come to realize that Inimicus like big flashy and painful deaths. I also realize that if they all shoot at the same time they'll kill me and themselves. I shrug my shoulders and feel the barrel adjust so that it's still tight against my back.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZeT69tfGL
"I won't make a long speech but… Long live Glorious l-" a wind picks up and the dust starts swirling around us. Inimicus are fighting to keep their ground and their guns. I take the opportunity and throw the barrel on my back away from me and bend it so that it won't ever work. I stab him in the stomach with his own gun barrel and watch him disappear into sludge.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHogok3nUKv
Two people appear as if from a mirage and begin to fight the dwindling army. A boy and a girl. The girl is directing winds towards the army and the boy is doing something that I can't tell. Whatever it is seems to be messing with the Inimicus heads. It gives me a good distraction. I disappear and move up to the rooftop. I concentrate hard and slowly lift the metal dumpster and throw it onto the nearest Inimicus group that approaches where I was. Trash flings out and scatters all around. The Inimicus flatten like a sludgy black pancake.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJ57mHaVNa
The few remaining Inimicus are running and the people let them go. I jump down and reappear with a flourish. The girl shakes my hand roughly and I grin. "Hi. My name is Simon Valere."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTot8GjH6Ig
Her eyes are glowing yellow along with the marks along her arms. "And mine is Esperanza, but you can call me Esperanza. You are SV? I read your blog and think that you are insane for doing it." I stare at her eyes, her thick black hair, and then at her tan toned muscles. She grins and I notice that she is the Socius girl from the video. 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOi1QR0Mdt
"I am insane, but insane people are the best."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivAnZ8rdXh
The boy beside her grabs my hand. He has crazy long black hair that is fit into a braid all the way down to his waist and his dirty untrimmed fingernails slice into my skin accidentally. He doesn't notice that the cut on my hand heals as soon as a small drip of blood beads up on the pale skin. He smiles a white smile. "I am Raul, it is nice to find another crazy one out here."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oifiShl13
I smile, "it's good to meet some Socius that aren't afraid to fight. Now come on, we need to get out of here. I'm going to guess they have more squads out here waiting for us. How did they know I'd come here?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5dLRwMHsI
Esperanza shrugs, "lucky guess? Have you ever been here?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47Y3HocjeA
I look at the field and feel a familiar painful memory pull at my brain. "No," I lie, "they must've guessed that I would come by this way."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjpgCBkvsL
"They are smart creatures," Raul agrees, "they almost killed us a day ago but we got some help in escaping when the cops showed up to arrest us for trespassing. Where are we going now? You do have a plan, right?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSl0P0FfVZ
"Follow me," I laugh because in reality, nobody has a plan. Nobody just pops up out of bed and makes a schedule for this type of thing. "I have no plan, but I do have headquarters. Esperanza, Raul, it's time for your induction to the freak show."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7dVvP0Dst
Ash733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlQ71g9lyJ
"Valerie Carmen, you are not allowed to climb trees!" I pull her away from the base of a large oak and she falls back into me, sending us both crashing into a pile of leaves. "You're going to hurt yourself and by doing that, you'll literally hurt me!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFVNrIB8mL
She turns and grabs my arm, letting heat sear from her fingertips to my exposed forearm. I let go of her and frantically rub my arm. "Ow! Val, that freaking hurts! You burned me, literally burned me!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVWt84Nz5x
She laughs and scuttles around the base of the tree. "Then, don't touch me, Az-shell Ar-ete."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUFsemznqC
"That's not how you pronounce my name!" That always makes me so angry. Why can't people just sound out the letters? "Az-a-hel A-re-te!" I start to stomp off, knowing she'll follow.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBa6a0P8SG9
"Wait, Asahel…" she says my name right and grabs my bad shoulder with her newfound ability. "I'm sorry, I was just jabbing at you."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UMXyazETQ
I turn and smirk. Before she can do anything, I suspend her a few feet above the ground. "I know, I'm just overdramatic."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnfIpwpixz
I hear something small come from my right. I jerk my head back and catch a slight movement on the periphery of my vision. I let Val go and she gracefully falls on the bed of autumn leaves. I quietly walk and catch a flash of camo out of the corner of my eye. I extend my palm and in one quick movement tase the intruder. I drag them back towards us as they begin to overcome the initial shock and fight through the leaves to get away.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NwRt3OQEY
I flip them up into the air and turn them to face me. He starts to scream but Val closes his mouth. I almost crush him in anger when I realize who it is.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb47qSqJICB
"Kenneth? What are you doing? Are you watching me?" Val walks closer to him and he jerks away like a plump earthworm on a fishhook. "I'm going to let you talk if you promise you won't scream. Understand?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTA4v4RqheW
Kenneth nods his head once and Val lets his jaw go loose. His dark eyes are wide in fear. "What the hell are you? Val, you're my friend. I trusted you. And you betrayed me all this time?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kTd5I7MqN
"How much did you see?" My anger is the same one that caused me to torture the Inimicus. I see his face turning bright red and turn him right side up again.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TZwbFuXVl
"What are you?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZr0KEl22v4
I slam him against the tree just to our right and he moans. "Answer my question Kenneth Marconi. Answer. The. Question!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ma4Bg6Yre
Val touches my arm and stops me from causing more harm to Kenneth. "Ash stop, you're going to hurt him. Kenneth," she sighs and looks at the boy, "just please answer the question because your life is in danger." 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7clXWjCi5
He looks like he has seen a ghost. "I saw enough to know why the school caught on fire Val. Or can I even call you that?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVPDTSzqxU
She bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from growing angry. "Stop that. My name is the same, I am the same person I was when I met you. If you promise not to run I'll make Ash put you down."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBnuPFPlTX
His dark eyes glare at me angrily. "If I run, he'll electrocute me. I don't have a choice." I set him down and he covers his face with his hands. "This isn't real, this isn't real."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLp211HlFag
Val touches his arm. "So first of all, why were you here?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6ZwwKk7uE
Kenneth's face blushes, "you wouldn't answer my calls so I called your mom. She told me you were with Ashley, but we don't have an Ashley in the school. So I spent last night pondering who you were with and so my best guess was Ash. I was right. So I followed your phone-"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYsFxYKQFW
"Wait, you stalked me here?" She looks shocked and betrayed. "How did you gain access to my phone?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEA2fYT79b
"Simple software, but that's not the point. I think you guys need to tell me what I have seen or I'm going to call the cops."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP41aHmInH
I start to throw him against a tree but he smiles. "You can't touch me, Val said that you had to put me down. Checkmate Asahel." 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqBSV97QpO
He's making me angry with his little attitude. "Kenneth, you're pissing me off. Just to remind you that I can electrocute you to dust in a few seconds and I could also let you fall pretty hard." I stab his shoulder with telekinesis. "Don't. Jab. Me. Do we have an understanding?" 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBfL7WS32c
Kenneth's eyes laugh at me. "Yes. Alien boy."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbeVh2mVdt
I can't help it, I rush forward and punch him in the face. Kenneth falls backward, trying to fend me off. My blows fall on him like rain. Val's shouting at me, but I'm not backing down when he insulted me like that. 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK41SJceYsP
Kenneth's face is bloody and bruised, but I don't care. I keep hitting him in the face. He puts his hands up in a vain attempt to stop me and kicks his legs sporadically. He stops fighting and goes completely limp with his eyes closed. I stop. Oh no, please don't let me have killed him.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcGoBH0Usp
Kenneth roars back to life and I realize I wasn't lucky enough to kill him. He manages to grab my fists and roll so that we're now a few paces away, snarling insults, throwing fake punches. "Don't like that word, Alien?" He ducks one of my punches and tries to kick my legs out from under me. I jump over knee him in the gut and he moans.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRDPCtJsTL
"I am not an alien!" I grab him by the collar and slam him into a tree. I rear back my arm to deliver the knockout punch and watch him flinch. I let my fist fly but something holds me back.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtWJoZYzyP
Val grabs my wrist, her fists searing the already burned skin. "Ow, frick! Val that hurts!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWOUoGpZAT
"It's not supposed to feel good." She still grabs my wrist, applying heat as she drags me off.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtEl0VDRyH
She grabs Kenneth's arm and drags him away. "Valerie Rachel Carmen! Ow, ow, ow! What the hell?! You burned me?!" He's a bloody mess from his nose which I don't think is broken, but bloody. His eyes are already looking like a raccoon but that doesn't stop me from hating him. I do, I do hate him.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyaQ7Zt9zE
"You two are in trouble. Pull a stunt like that again and I'll make you both hold hands." Val snarls.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKsHIrB7TK
"You can't do that!" We both shout. My face is red from embarrassment and from the heat Val's body radiates.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsbVZlmyAC
"I can and I will. Now, are you both going to be civil about this?" She lets go of our hands and the heat disappears. "Shake hands, make up. Asahel Arete and Kenneth Marconi, I will burn you."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUO9bKKoVmW
I extend my hand and he looks away as he takes it. We meet eyes and I can almost read his thoughts. If I ever see you alone, I'm going to pummel you. I give him a narrowed eye look and turn to Val who has somehow gotten a hold over both of us.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgpXg0Pqwe
"There. Now that's better." Val smiles a self-satisfied smirk.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwS5gZ9Qui
Kenneth stares at her to avoid me and crosses his arms. "Okay, so what are you?" 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWaNbgo5oX
There's no way around it, I'm going to have to tell him or he'll squeal to somebody. "Socius," I whisper and look around as if an Inimicus will appear by the mention of what we are. "I swear, I will find you and slit your throat is your sleep if you breathe another word to a living soul. Do you understand?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtqWnRNTkS
"So you're an alien right?" He looks genuinely confused and scared but it still infuriates me that he called me an alien.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Z0cSwpQsQ
"No," Val says and touches my arm. "Superhuman is how they described it to me. Don't ever call us aliens, the aliens are the bad guys." She calmly waters down her own version of what we are and whispers to Kenneth. When she finishes I grab his arm and narrow my eyes.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWiqtwEqSe
"I'm not going to tell anyone." He's smiling. "It's like you were copied out of a sci-fi book. It's freaking awesome! You have to show me more!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdHTmdTjQA
I stand and nod, "you'll have to talk to mom and dad and we're going to have to train. As my mother always says, 'an Inimicus could take you down without lifting a finger', you're pretty weak." I nod to his bloody face and his smile drops.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdQjVa8J5U
"Well, I'm all good. You guys good? I don't care that I got beat to a pulp, I finally have something amazing happen to me. I'm finally a superhero!"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRpKWQ1NF1
"You're probably going to die." I touch my shoulder as I remember the screams of pain and the betrayed looks on Erica's face. "So when it happens don't look at me with betrayal. I've been down that road and I don't want to live with killing you too."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUtydVv3CF
"Nobody here is going to die," Val says only half-certain of her words. "the Inimicus will be burned to death and electrocuted. There is no way they can win."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63Qkkswwws
"So have you seen that YouTube thing?" Kenneth pulls out his phone. "There's this video footage from a highly Mexican part of Albuquerque where three kids take down a whole bunch of people that turn into sludge. The guy who posted the video didn't respond to any of the comments so authorities checked on him and found him almost dead. He tripped on a step and busted his head open. He could only say one word before he died, 'Inimicus'. Now everyone is saying that the video is cursed and that everyone who watches it will die. It's pretty legit."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6s6yVDJIq
I take the phone from his hand and see a pasty blond-haired boy disappearing and re-appearing as a strange dagger slices through Inimicus. I watch until the other two Latino kids show up and decimate the rest of the Inimicus. 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhZy9xwffA
I try to remember their faces and heights because other features are easy to change. Hair can be cut and dyed, contacts can hide eye color, and different clothes can change how wide a person looks. The blond kid I feel like I know from somewhere, but I don't know where. There's a good chance that he's been on the news for murder, because people die in our profession and we are accountable for them. My alias, Riley Stevenson also has a warrant for his arrest in the mysterious case of Erica's murder. They won't ever find me. I wore my hair long and dyed it black and used colored contacts to make my eyes blue. They can't find me because I'm a lie and that's all I'll ever be until I die… whenever that may be.733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DxiIwlNmO
"I wonder what their names are," Val says. "I wonder if any of them are SV?"733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxtxwewzqW
I just shrug, "dad's going to be so angry. He's going to kill me. Val, I'm not kidding, he's going to kill me and then Kenneth." I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. "Well, let's all march to our deaths."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmqnntwdQz
"They're really going to be angry about this?" Val sighs. "733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzbUX76JIL
"So, I'm sorry I called you an alien. We can make up right?" Kenneth holds out his hand and smiles not a sincere one, but an exaggerated yearbook picture smile. "Allies?" 733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rkU22lQFx
I take his hand and nod. "Allies."733Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvgRQ5CxOx
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